In The Beginning
by DSalvatoresGirl
Summary: Prequel to my other fic Torn Apart. This is the story of how Stefan met his love Filiz. Who would've thought that asking for directions would lead you to your soulmate? - StefanxOC - Christmas present to my Bear Filiz ;)


**A/N: This is a prequel/OS to my other fic Torn Apart. This shows the side of Stefan and Filiz. **

**Happy Reading!**

* * *

"Here sweetheart, you need your strength." Filiz said as she gave a bowl of soup to a homeless woman.

"Thank you so much…" The woman said in a rough voice as she started to eat.

Filiz smiled as she walked away, going back into the kitchen to make more meals for the other homeless people in the hall.

"Filiz! There's something I need to tell you!" Her younger brother, Jeremy, said while practically running into the kitchen.

"Jer, just because you're my brother, doesn't mean that you can just barge into my place of work. My boss is going to kick my ass." Filiz laughed as she hugged him. "Now what is it that you wanted to tell me?"

"I met this amazing girl last night. Her name is April and you just need to meet her. She's my age. She's…perfect in every sense of the word." He said in a lovesick voice, making her smile.

"Well I believe that I need to meet her." Filiz said with a smile.

Jeremy nodded, "Yeah you do. You know, Filiz…It's kinda sad that your little brother's love life is more existent than yours."

She mock punched her brother, hiding her smile, "Shut up and go home before my boss catches you here."

"Fine. I'll see you at home." He said before kissing her cheek and leaving.

She smiled, watching her brother leave as she poured soup into separate bowls.

"Hottie walking in, Filiz…" Her co-worker, Sarah, whispered as she passed by behind her.

"He's homeless, Sarah." She whispered back, not looking up.

"Homeless or not, he's totally hot." Sarah giggled.

Looking up, she realized that her co-worker was right, this boy was amazingly good looking.

_May by body and soul burn in hell for sounding like Bella Annoying Swan, but he looks like a walking Adonis! _She thought to herself as the boy walked around, looking around.

She walked over after wiping her hands, "Hello…Are you hungry?" She asked politely.

She looked him up and down, _Dressed nicely…Nice breath…Smells clean…Definitely not homeless…_

"No…I'm not homeless or anything…Just lost." He asked with a subtle blush to his cheeks.

She chuckled, "Oh…Where are you trying to get to?"

"The airport…I think I took a wrong turn somewhere in the traffic."

"Oh that's normal here, if you're not used to the area…I can call you a cab…It's kind of hard to tell you the directions, it's pretty complicated."

He smiled at her, "I would love that, thank you."

She smiled and nodded, getting the phone from the kitchen and dialing for a cab service.

A few minutes later, she came back to him, "They should be here in about ten minutes."

"Thank you so much. I'm Stefan by the way." He smiled at her.

She smiled, "Filiz…Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too…" He chuckled to himself, "This is about the most awkward way to meet a girl."

_Well he's an obvious one. _

"Very awkward…It's not every day I get a good smelling guy walking in here." _Nice Filiz…Just let him know how you're inhaling his scent like a dog. _

He laughed, "At least I know I smell good."

She blushed, "Yeah…That sounded weird, huh?"

He shrugged, wanting to spare her more embarrassment, "I've gotten worse…One girl asked me how I styled my hair so perfectly."

She tried hard not to laugh, but failed, "Wow…I kind of wanted to ask the same thing though." She teased.

He laughed with her, "Seriously?"

"I'm teasing, I'm teasing." She giggled while he shook his head.

They both sobered up when they heard three consecutive honks outside.

"Well that's my cue to go…" He said regretfully.

She nodded a little, "Well maybe I'll see you around…One day, if I'm lucky enough."

"Well, I hope you are…Uhm, here's my number." He said while pulling out a piece of paper and pen while writing it down.

"Okay, I'll give you mine." She said, taking his number and writing hers down on a little sheet of paper she had.

He took it and smiled, "I hope to see you around."

She nodded and smiled, "I should get back to work…Bye…"

He nodded a little and walked out, looking behind him, watching her walk away and hoping to see her again.

While walking away, she turned her head to watch him walk away. _Never look back, Filiz… _She paused when she saw him turn to look at her, she quickly turned and walked into the kitchen.

"He stared at you." Sarah said in a sing song voice as she went up to Filiz. "You know, when I guy looks back at you means he's very interested."

"Oh please. We had the weirdest conversation. It won't lead to anything, Sarah." Filiz said while putting soup bowls onto a tray.

_He wouldn't go for me…_

* * *

"How's Damon doing?" Stefan asked Caroline over the phone.

"He's good…I mean, he's better…I think he misses you, he's just too stubborn to say it."

"I miss him too…But if I tell him, I'm sure he'll laugh in my face or punch me." He confided in his surrogate little sister.

"And you are just as stubborn. You both just need to apologize to each other and everything will be the way it used to be." She whined.

"It's not that simple, Care." He sighed.

"Yes it is…I miss just hanging out with my two brothers, without having to calm down a fight."

"It'll happen eventually…Just give us time." Stefan sighed as he got out of the cab.

"Okay…" She sighed.

"Now, the real reason I wanted to call you was…I met this girl…"

The way his surrogate sister gasped made him laugh, "Where? How does she look? How does she treat you?"

He kept laughing, "I met her at a soup kitchen…And she's beautiful, Care…She has long dark hair…Beautiful tan skin…Green eyes…The kindest smile…And she was funny and kind and…I want to see her again."

Caroline smiled, though he couldn't see, "Then what's stopping you?"

"I have to go home today and I don't think I'll see her ever again."

"Then stay an extra…whatever! I'll tell the town if you want me to, just stay and get the girl! If you feel even a tiny smidge that this girl is someone for you, you really need to see where this goes. After what Katherine did, you need someone new. Not in a rebound way, but in a…make you happy kind of way." She ranted.

"You want me to go for this girl?"

"Yes. You and Damon both need a fresh start…Someone that can take away the pain that Katherine left and maybe this girl is it for you…Just like how Elena pretty much is for Damon."

"Wait…Elena and Damon are dating?" He asked shocked.

"No…Not yet, but they will…I can feel it. I know that will happen sooner or later and when it does, Damon will be happy. That's all I want. I want my brothers to be happy."

He smiled, "Well Miss Matchmaker…I guess I'll be seeing you in a few weeks or more."

"Okay. I'll tell anyone who is expecting you. Now, go talk to that girl, go be happy and tell me all the details, okay?"

"Okay, Care…Love you." He said with a smile, hailing a cab.

"I love you too…Bye." She said before hanging up.

* * *

About two weeks after meeting Stefan, Filiz was running late and quickly ran into her favorite café, her system begging to be caffeinated.

"My usual, please." She said while pulling money out of her bag.

"You're gonna have to tell me, I just started working here today so…" She heard from behind the counter…That strangely familiar voice.

Looking up, she smiled in shock, "Stefan…Wow, what a surprise."

He smiled, realizing it was her, "Yeah, I guess you got lucky."

She giggled, "I guess so…And um, my usual is a caramel latté."

"Comin' right up." He said with a smile as he turned and started her order.

She quickly pulled out her phone and texted Sarah.

_Just ran into Stefan at the café…I might be a bit late._

Her friend's reply came quickly, _I want details, young lady!_

She smiled and put her phone away, just in time because Stefan turned, handing over her latté.

"I've been trying to call you…Tell you that I actually decided to stay. But your phone was disconnected."

She smiled sheepishly, "Yeah…My phone was stolen so I had it turned off…I have a new number and everything."

"Oh, that sucks. I wanted to tell you that I really would like to go out with you…" He started, a bit hesitant.

"Really?" She said in disbelief. _Don't sound too harsh, Filiz! _"I mean…You want to go out with me?"

"Yeah…Is that so hard to believe?" He said with a kind smile.

She shrugged, "Kind of…Yeah…I mean, I'm not all that lucky with guys…"

"Well, your luck already changed by seeing me again…Maybe you just had to meet me for your luck to change."

Filiz couldn't help but smile, "Maybe…Well here's my new number. Text me and we'll figure out when we can go out." She said, writing down her number on the notepad on the counter.

"Okay…Talk to you soon then." He said with a smile while she put money on the counter.

"Keep the change." She said with a smile as she walked out with her latté.

* * *

"Should I wear this? I mean…What is fifth date material?" Filiz asked Sarah as she twirled in one of her dresses.

"I think you should wear something a bit sexy…Skinny pants with a revealing purple blouse? You know, the way that Petrova model dresses."

"Well one problem, Sarah. I'm not Tatia Toothpick Petrova!" Sarah laughed, "No one is Tatia Toothpick Petrova! Not even Tatia herself! But you can still wear clothes like her, Filiz."

"Okay…Doesn't fifth date mean sex?" She asked nervously.

"Sometimes…Depending on the guy."

Taking a deep breath, Filiz looked at her, "Then make me look like Tatia Toothpick Petrova."

Sarah beamed, "Finally!" She giggled as she ran to her own closet and quickly pulled out some of her clothes.

"You better be prepared, I'm about to make you my own life sized Barbie." Sarah said with an evil smile.

Filiz internally groaned as she stood, waiting to be dressed by her crazy friend.

* * *

"Now remember! Fifth date does not mean you get into her pants Stefan!"

"I know Caroline! You've told me that for the past…five freaking dates!"

"Well you're the one who called for advice and that is the advice I'm giving you. All Tyler did during our fifth date was get handsy. I hated it, so you better not put this girl through it, understood?"

He gritted his teeth at the mention of Lockwood, the one person who broke them…The one person who made the _Three Musketeers_ suffer. "Okay…Don't get handsy. I can do that."

"Good…Second, treat it like any other date. Be polite, be your normal self."

"Alright…"

"Make sure you open doors for her, pay the bill, hold her hand, be the sappy romantic you are. If you weren't like a brother to me, I would totally date you because of that."

"Ew…" He chuckled.

"Oh shut up! Now, where are you taking her?"

"Her favorite restaurant and then the movies."

"No no no! Go to the movies first then dinner!" She whined.

"Why?" He asked confused.

"When you take a girl to dinner, then a movie, there is a seventy-five percent chance that she will need to use the restroom. But she will be too embarrassed to get up and go when you're sitting right there next to her!"

He couldn't help but laugh, "Oh…I never thought about that…"

"Exactly! So you take her to the movies first…Have a small popcorn and an ice or something then take her to the nice lavish dinner. Got it?"

"Got it…Oh what would I do without you, Carebear?" He chuckled.

"Crash and burn." She giggled. "Now, go get ready. I'll be waiting up for all the details."

"Okay. Love you." He said with a smile as he pulled clothes out of his closet.

"Love you too, Steffy." She said before hanging up.

He put his phone down and started to undress so he could shower.

* * *

"That movie was a "Wait for DVD" movie." Filiz said as they walked out of the theater.

"Yeah, well it doesn't really matter now. I mean, I got to spend time with you so that's all that matters." He said while putting his arm around her shoulders.

"You're too sweet." She smiled as she wrapped her arm around his waist.

"I try only for you." He said with a smile.

"Well you don't have to try hard."

He looked at her and leaned down, "Would it be okay if I kissed you right now? I've been dying to do so for the past five dates…"

Without responding, she reached up on her tiptoes and kissed him, relieved that she wasn't the only one who had wanted to do this.

He held her face in his hands gently as he kissed her, it seemed that he was afraid to brake her or something. She liked that…

The kiss lasted for forever, it seemed. The only thing that could pull them apart was a car honking.

They both pulled away, then Stefan quickly pulled Filiz onto the sidewalk, he was out of breath and just stared at her as she laughed.

"I completely forgot that we were standing in the middle of the street!" She laughed as he tried to catch his breath.

"And that was so funny wasn't it?" He asked sarcastically.

She giggled and nodded, "Yup! Your face was priceless!"

Call him a girl…Call him childish…But the only response she got was him sticking his tongue out at her like a petulant child; which caused her to laugh even more.

* * *

"It's your five month anniversary…What are you going to do?" Caroline asked while on the phone with Stefan.

"Ask her to move in with me…I can't stand to be apart from her, Care." Stefan confessed as he walked down the street, stopping at a flower stand to buy Filiz a bouquet of flowers.

"Aww, that's so sweet! So are you going to stay in New York then?"

"I don't know…Maybe I'll even ask her to move back with me."

"That would be the most amazing thing ever!"

* * *

"You have to tell him, Filiz. The longer you stall, the worse the outcome will be!" Sarah chided as she watched Filiz pacing.

"How do I tell him? I'm finally happy and this…this is going to make him want to break it off, I know it!" She said in a panicky voice.

"You can't think like that…I'm sure he won't leave you. If he loves you, he'll accept it!"

"That's the thing! We've never said 'I love you' to each other! In these five and a half months we've been together, we have never said that to the other! What if he doesn't love me?!"

Sarah sighed and crossed her arms, "Do you love him?"

"Yes…I just haven't told him…I can't…I can't be the one to say it first…"

"If you want to know if he loves you, you tell him how you feel then tell him this secret, Filiz."

Filiz sighed and felt like throwing up, "I hate my life."

"No you don't. You're just stressing…over nothing, might I add."

"This isn't nothing…"

* * *

"Baby, it's me…" Stefan said as he walked into the apartment. "Oh, hey Sarah…"

"Hi…Bye…" She said as she walked out, putting on her jacket.

"Alrighty then…" He said as he walked into Filiz's room. He stopped short when he saw her sitting on the bed, crying.

"Stefan…" She said as she saw him, she wiped her tears and stood.

"What's wrong?" He asked concerned.

"I ruined everything…It's not even my fault really…But I…I have to go…I have to leave New York." She said in a broken whisper.

"Why do you have to go?"

"My parents were in an accident…I have to go and take care of them…"

He felt his heart drop, he knew that he would follow her, but it hurt him that she sounded so heartbroken.

"Where do you have to go?"

"Virginia…It's a little town, I doubt you've ever heard of it…Wait…You used to live in Virginia, right?"

He nodded, "Yeah…Mystic Falls."

A smile broke through her face, her tears ceased, "Mystic Falls! That town is like an hour's drive away from my house!"

He smiled too, "We just keep getting lucky huh?"

She giggled, wiping her tears, "Yes!" She exclaimed while jumping into his arms.

She hugged and kissed him while thanking her lucky stars that she was still able to be with this man.

* * *

Driving to the airport, their bags in the trunk of the cab, they held hands.

"Stefan…Can we talk before getting on the plane?"

"We can talk now…"

She shook her head, "No…I want space to be able to…pace."

He smiled a little and nodded, "Okay…" He knew that whenever she was nervous, she'd pace.

He wondered what it was that she was so nervous about now…

* * *

Putting their bags on the ground next to the near vacant waiting area, Filiz immediately started pacing.

"Babe, just spit it out…" He said as he stood and waited for her to come out with whatever was plaguing her.

"Where is all this going to lead to? I mean…When we get to Virginia…Are we going to keep seeing each other? Or is there some girl waiting for you at home?"

He looked at her and shook his head, "You think that I just used you to waste time in New York?"

She shrugged a bit then nodded, "Yeah…I'm nothing special…"

"You don't see yourself clearly, then. You want to know the reason why I stayed here? The real reason I didn't go back home that day?"

She looked up at him and shrugged again.

"I stayed because of you. From the moment I met you…I wanted to know you. Now that I know you, I…I love you…And now that I love you…I want to spend as much time as I can with you…I want you in my life, Filiz." He said as he tilted her head up so he could look her in the eyes.

She had tears building in her eyes, but smiled a little, "Did you just say that you love me?"

He smiled a little and nodded, "Yup…You don't have to say it b-"

She interrupted him, "I love you." Her smile was so bright and wide that he thought her face might crack.

"Really?" He asked in disbelief.

She nodded and smiled, "Of course!" She said right before she kissed him.

He kissed her back, in that moment, he realized that he wanted to spend forever with this girl…

He just hoped she wanted the same…

* * *

"Welcome to Mystic Falls…The most boring town you will ever pass through." Stefan said as they drove past the 'Welcome To Mystic Falls!' sign.

"I think my town is equally boring. Biggest scandal was that our town flag was cut up. We still think the old cat lady did it." She giggled.

He laughed with her, "We have very worse scandals, unfortunately."

"Like what?"

He sighed, "This girl…Katherine Flemming…I used to date her…My best friend, Damon, dated her too. We fought so many times over her. And she always told us that she loved us both and couldn't choose, and if we loved her, we wouldn't force her to."

"Oh my god…And you believed her?"

"We both did…Then one day, she came to both of us, she was crying and babbling about wanting to keep something…"

Filiz stared at him as he drove, curious, "What did she want to keep?"

"Her baby. When we finally got her to calm down, she told us that she was pregnant. We both thought that the baby was ours so we both asked her to marry us, thinking that we had to take care of her. She denied us both and said that she wouldn't accept until she knew for sure who the father was."

"You wanted to marry her?" She whispered to him.

"Damon wanted to marry her because he loved her and wanted to make sure that he took care of her and the baby…I wanted to marry her because I thought it was the right thing to do…"

"…Go on…"

"We each took turns taking her to the doctor and everything, so when it was time for the baby to come, Damon's little sister, Caroline, offered to be there for her, knowing that Damon and I would fight in the delivery room. But Katherine refused and said she'd rather have her best friend, Caroline's boyfriend, Tyler Lockwood with her instead."

Filiz remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

"When she delivered the baby, Damon and I both asked to see her and the baby. When we walked in, Tyler was holding the baby and smiling down at Katherine. Before Damon and I could say a word, Katherine told us that she was in love with Tyler and if we looked at the baby, we would see that the little girl has his eyes."

Filiz audibly gasped, "She was cheating on the both of you?"

He nodded, "Yup…I had to stop both Damon and Caroline from kicking Katherine and Tyler's asses…Damon wanted to kill Tyler for being with Katherine and hurting Caroline whereas Caroline wanted Katherine to suffer for 'hurting her brothers' and all."

"Well I'd like to meet Caroline."

"You will soon…" He said as he heard his phone ring.

He pulled it out and saw that it was his best friend from New York, Nik.

"Hey Nik." He answered.

"Guess who just moved to little Mystic Falls with Rebekah in tow?"

"You're here?"

"That I am, Brother. Let's have a party tonight. I want to meet all the girls in your town…I'd also love to meet your girl."

"Hey…" Stefan said with a chuckle.

"Shall I rephrase? I would like to meet the girls in your town, try and win a date, then meet the famous Filiz. The girl my dear friend won't shut up about." Nik laughed.

"Better…And sure. A party tonight. I'll tell my friend Caroline. She'll set something up."

"Oooh, Caroline…I want to meet her first."

"Hands off, she's like a sister to me."

"I'll take care of her." Nik said slyly, knowing it irked Stefan.

"I'll see you tonight, Nik. Bye."

"Ta-ta, Brother." He said before hanging up.

"Party tonight?" Filiz asked.

"Yup, you get to meet Nik and Caroline tonight." He said while parking in front of his childhood home.

"Yay!" She cheered.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Merry Late Christmas to my sister bear Filiz!**

**Sweetie, I know this is late, but I hope you like it!**

**R&R please! **

**-WeirdOne**


End file.
